Giveaway: Sun Maiden Breathes Life into Spring

To celebrate spring and the milestone of over 300 followers to Ancient Hearth, I wanted to give away a beautiful Waldorf inspired wall hanging.  Handmade using wool roving and lovingly needle felted by me, this hanging is approximately 9" x 12" and can be hung on a wall using the hemp twine attached to it.  Would make a lovely addition to a bedroom, school room, or class room.

The Sun Maiden holds a bouquet of spring flowers as she travels through the meadows bringing light and life to the land.  A nest of three eggs sits above her head in the tree as wispy clouds drift by and the gentle breeze blows.

To be entered into this giveaway, please leave a comment that you'd like to be entered, along with what you love most about Waldorf schooling, lifestyle, or philosophy!  Doesn't have to be long, just interested in seeing what drew you to Waldorf or to this blog.  If you share this on your blog, please let me know - along with a link to your blog, and I'll enter you a second time!

A lucky winner will be chosen within a week and the winner will be announced next Sunday!  Good luck and blessings to all!

 

Love and light!

~ Jen

Happy Spring!

 

I can't believe spring is already here!  My husband recently put up a few shelves in our school room so I could display some of our beloved wooden figures and needle felted treasures.  It helps with our rhythm.

 



 I have so missed blogging, feeling sad that I haven't much time anymore to capture our days and share them with others, but I did go through today and saw about 50 comments left through the years that I hadn't seen and got around to publishing them today.  I wanted to thank each and every one of you who reached out and commented on a post I had done.  It really meant the world to me - like little hugs across the miles :) 

 

It is so nice to find like-minded friends and others with the passion to nurture and prioritize the health and development of our children.  Sharing helps others and reaching out to receive inspiration or to inspire others, in turn, helps so many children.  I know I have been so motivated and enlightened by so many amazing mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends out there through the years who took the time to share.

 

So today, I want to honor all of you and in the spirit of giving, I am going to be making something today to give away as a token of thanks this week!  I don't have any plans yet just *what* to make - other than something needle-felted as that is a beloved passion of mine...so stay tuned and enjoy the life that is blooming right under our noses!

 



Blessings and light to all my friends and readers! 

xoxo

A few photos from our Block on the Norse Myths...

 

One of our favorite blocks from Grade 4 was the Norse Mythology Block.

 

There are a lot of wonderful blogs and websites to help inspire creativity, but my favorite books are listed below.  Padraic Colum's book is a fine read to fluff out more details for when you are telling one of the myths to your child.  But for drawing inspiration, the D’Auelaires book was fantastic!

 

Here are some of my chalk drawings.  I have yet to find the other stories we did - they are buried in my photo log somewhere - but here is something to get you started!  I used the D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths for the drawings.  They are just stunning and even more so when you get them on the chalkboard.  The cover world is a nice starting point before you being the tales so you and your child can familiarize yourselves for further enjoyment.

Here is from Yggdrasil, the World Tree...

 

 

Some wonderful more thorough coverage of this block can be found at these links:

 

Waldorf Homeschoolers: http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/norse-myths

 

Sure as the World: http://sureastheworld.com/2012/04/11/norse-mythology-block-2/

 

Homeschooling Waldorf has some beautiful wet on wet watercolor paintings that may inspire you: http://homeschoolingwaldorf.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/watercolor-painting/

 

Sorry I have such little time as of late to showcase more of what we are doing, but I am happy if you can find even a little inspiration from our journey! 

 



 

Advent has arrived!  For those who celebrate this religious tradition, Waldorf has found a lovely way to tie it into the earth, as well.  We begin with the Light of Stones...

 

Carrie from The Parenting Passageway wrote a beautiful and detailed post on the first week of Advent in relation to Waldorf and how she and her family celebrate.  It can be seen here.

 

 

In our family, we make our own Advent wreath from branches in our yard, pine cones we have collected, acorn caps, and this year, we rolled red holly balls from our wool roving.  My daughters, who are now 10 years old (OMG) made the wreath this year with minimal help from Mom :)

 

 

Several years ago, I created a basic tutorial, which can be seen here. 

 

 

The twins tied the branches to the frame with twine.

 

 

I got out some special gifts from nature we have collected through the years...

 

 

From our lovely Oak tree in the front of our home...

 

 

And pine cones from a park near our house...

 

 

Laney got to use the hot glue gun and glued the acorn caps to the branches...

 

 

She glued the wool balls and I tied red ribbons on our candle holders this year...

 

 

We begin with a story from one of my favorite books, Christmas Roses: Legends for Advent...

 

Light our candle with a prayer...

 

 

And meditate on our blessings...

 

 

The Advent Wreath helps us focus and center on family, reminds us to slow down and come inward again to replenish, to heal, and to rest.

 

I found some beautiful verses that I enjoyed very much from Sandi at The Sun with Loving Light...blog here.

 

Blessings and Light to you all as you begin this Advent journey!

Leaving November behind...

 

Golden Sun is going down to seek his winter throne.

Far and wide the seeds now sleep my garden is alone;

 

When all around is dark and still within the winter night.

The sun will rise within my heart and shine a warmer light.

~ M. Meyerkort
from the Autumn book by Wynstones Press

A glimpse of our schoolroom...just before the autumn fairies carried the seed babies away...

Hello my friends - I have missed posting and have much I hope to share with you all from this past year.  I also have messages I still have to go through and appreciate everyone's patience.  Life has been so busy that I had to prioritize things other than updating this blog.  Now that December is here, we slow down and focus on the magic of this special time, so my hope is to post more and get caught up.  Blessings and love to all of you!